Extra Garage Space

[Karlo]

BT

When I build my wife her larger home, I was thinking a 4 car garage for me but looking at your setup seems like a 3 car might work. How tall does the ceiling need to be?

http://www.exocars.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=183&d=1205151234

http://www.exocars.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=182&d=1205151234

[B-T]

Depending on what you are trying to stack, 9 feet is an absolute minimum with two low height sports cars stacked. The lift company recommends the clear ceiling (below a raised garage door / ceiling light fixtures) be the height of the two vehicles added together plus 10". I'd recommend at least a 10 foot ceiling for most applications. You will need 12 foot minimum if you want a 2 post lift. If you are going to try and stack them under an opened garage door you should get the door installed with high lift tracks so the door will be hugging the ceiling to give you maximum clear height. I built my recent garage with 11'-6" ceilings and made the main area 36 feet deep so I can store two cars in tandem in those spaces. I call it a 6 car garage (48 feet wide), but I can easily get 8-10 if I add more lifts. The wife took over the original 4 car garage that we built with the house, and the 1 car garage I added a few years ago is now the tool workshop area. There are several good lift companies out there, but I have seen the el cheapo chinese lift and I would not be willing to walk around under it, or park any car that I valued under it. Plan on spending about $4-6k for a top quality car lift. It is a fun project to install it! I'd say if you are going to build a 3 car, go ahead and make it 4 if you have the space. You will always use it!
BT

[B-T]

Here are a few pictures of the garage when I had just finished building it.
BT